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Edited to add a citation. At many universities (certainly my undergrad) the mean and median students in the Education department are weaker than students in ot

Edited to add a citation. At many universities (certainly my undergrad) the mean and median students in the Education department are weaker than students in other departments. Taking the weakest to bring out the best in our students seems very odd. There is some research that suggests teacher certification can actually be counterproductive. [1] If we were in the situation of Finland (teachers are in the top 10% of their class) then we would not need this type of intervention. An increasing amount of research shows that TFA recruits perform at best no better, and often worse, than their trained and certified counterparts. I do not believe this to be conclusive. TFA teachers are being tossed into failing schools and systems and meeting or exceeding their supposedly more well trained peers. Would a biology professor write a recommendation to medical school for an English major who’s never taken any core science courses? That would be strange. It would be even stranger if the professor knew the English major was just going into medicine for a few years, as a way to boost his resume, before ultimately going on to a career in public relations. This is the one true, and serious complaint. TFA has turned into a place for smart high achievers to spend two years before going to grad school. Ideally many stay involved in education, but not all of them. But... It still does more for society than sending another couple percent of our best and brightest into banking and consulting. [1] http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/dobbie_fryer_revision_final.pdf http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/fryer/files/dobbie_fryer_re... Bottom of page 2, top of page 3.

dethtron5000 13y ago
>> At many universities (certainly my undergrad) the mean and median students in the Education department are weaker than students in other departments. Taking the weakest to bring out the best in our students seems very odd. There is some research that suggests teacher certification can actually be counterproductive. [1] If we were in the situation of Finland (teachers are in the top 10% of their class) then we would not need this type of intervention. To the degree to which this is accurate,this flips the cause and effect. Finland, as a society, invests in its teachers and in teaching as a profession. In the US teaching isn't a terrifically paid job and isn't respected as a profession. If we invested more in teachers and teaching then we'd see those ratios start to change, maybe generationally. As it stands, though, teachers tend to get the brunt of the blame for "failing" schools - by both the right and the left politically now.
- mathattack 13y ago
  My understanding of Finland isn't that teachers are paid more, it's that they are highly respected. (Similar to Singapore) They are in a positive cycle: Teachers are respected -> The elite want to become teachers -> Teachers are respectable. We are in the converse of that: Teachers are not respected -> The bottom want to become teachers -> Teachers are not respectable. I'm not putting all of the blame on teachers. Some part of the problem is individual teachers. Some is the stupidity of their unions. Some is poor administration. Some is society for not demanding more out of everyone involved in education.

dethtron5000 13y ago

>> At many universities (certainly my undergrad) the mean and median students in the Education department are weaker than students in other departments. Taking the weakest to bring out the best in our students seems very odd. There is some research that suggests teacher certification can actually be counterproductive. [1] If we were in the situation of Finland (teachers are in the top 10% of their class) then we would not need this type of intervention. To the degree to which this is accurate,this flips the cause and effect. Finland, as a society, invests in its teachers and in teaching as a profession. In the US teaching isn't a terrifically paid job and isn't respected as a profession. If we invested more in teachers and teaching then we'd see those ratios start to change, maybe generationally. As it stands, though, teachers tend to get the brunt of the blame for "failing" schools - by both the right and the left politically now.

mathattack 13y ago
My understanding of Finland isn't that teachers are paid more, it's that they are highly respected. (Similar to Singapore) They are in a positive cycle: Teachers are respected -> The elite want to become teachers -> Teachers are respectable. We are in the converse of that: Teachers are not respected -> The bottom want to become teachers -> Teachers are not respectable. I'm not putting all of the blame on teachers. Some part of the problem is individual teachers. Some is the stupidity of their unions. Some is poor administration. Some is society for not demanding more out of everyone involved in education.